A historic building is slated to be transformed into a new restaurant, thanks to a celebrity interior designer with a penchant for putting the spotlight on Sewickley. Plans for a proposed new restaurant cleared a hurdle Nov. 5 when Sewickley zoning board officials unanimously (5-0) approved a zoning variance request of a 40-feet loading space from applicant Leanne Ford of Sewickley.
The building is located at 524 Locust Place in Sewickley’s historic district and was bought for $665,000 in July by Axel LLC, according to online real estate records. Ford had renovation shows on HGTV including “Restored by the Fords” and “Home Again with the Fords.” Ford relocated from L.
A. to Pittsburgh four years ago and hails from Upper St. Clair.
She and her clothing mogul husband Erik Ford own Buck Mason, a luxury casual clothing store that opened last year along Beaver Street in Sewickley. Ford wears many creative hats as author, businesswoman and interior designer — known for her texture, vintage, nature, books and art style formula. She recently published “The Slow Down,” a design book that includes the story of her journey back to Pittsburgh.
“It’s all about my love of living in this small town and fixing up one of its historical homes,” Leanne Ford said. Obtaining the zoning variance was essential in order to move the project forward. Cait Delach, a member of the LLC and Pittsburgh architect Andre Clarke presented to the zoning board on Ford’s behalf because she .
